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| Road crews watch as mud and trees slide onto Highway 95 on the south end of the bypass above Ash Street Saturday afternoon as rain continues to fall. |
At about 12:39 p.m., a report came in of a mudslide across Ash Street just off Highway 95 in Bonners Ferry, and shortly after an officer arrived on scene, a second slide came down, covering both lanes of Highway 95 and shutting down north/south travel through Bonners Ferry.
Residents on Washington Street and in other areas above the slides were evacuated.
As Boundary County Road and Bridge, Bonners Ferry and Idaho Transportation Department road crews worked to stabilize the hillside and clear the slide, police officers and sheriffs deputies worked to divert traffic, but every attempt was stymied; Mirror Lake Road by flooding, Lion's Den Road by a slide.
At about 2:46 p.m., another mudslide on Highway 95, this one on Peterson Hill, forced another shutdown, and at 3:26 p.m. Deep Creek Loop was shut down due to flooding.
Boundary County Emergency Management was activated and a command post established in the Kootenai River Inn Parking lot to help coordinate the many agencies, Sheriff's Office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Bonners Ferry Police, Idaho Transportation Department, Boundary County Road and Bridge, Bonners Ferry Street Department, fire departments county wide, Search and Dive Rescue and more that responded.
While road problems persist and with additional reports of flooding and mudslides continuing to trickle in, ITD officials that traffic will begin alternating via one lane at around 5 p.m.
The emergency declaration paves the way for the county to seek state and federal assistance in recovering from the damages that Mother Nature seems intent on continuing to inflict for at least a little longer; the good news is that Sunday and Monday are expected to be relatively dry.